EF2 version One was barely beyond beta. A few months later version Two broke out, and who wants to even recall the earlier version? Starting out on the tarmac, spooling up the engines and getting taxi clearance, the raw beauty of the setting, runways and tower alight, mountains and mist in the distance, watching the cross traffic as you head for the runway, the inevitable "Wind 0 degrees, 0 knots" [okay, a bug in the ointment :o( ...] finally getting clearance and the noise of the hard rubber as you gain speed and finally blast off... hey, it feels like the real thing! And if you happen to have a sub woofer stuffed under your butt, even better!! First impressions still count, and EF2 has a lot going for it in the "atmosphere" department.

The sim is set in north western Europe, mostly among the awe inspiring landscape of Norway. Flying over mountains and fjords, glaciers and ocean, one is constantly distracted by the scenery. Of course, you will also see roads and railways, dams and tunnels, ships and oil rigs, SAMs and runways. Buildings also abound at key sites, especially strategic ones like EWR and air bases. Air bases are particularly interesting since runways are lit, control towers have winking strobes on top, and dozens of aircraft of various descriptions are parked or taxiing around. Cities are modelled nicely with detail high enough to be impressive but not so high that the frame rate is unduly affected.

With 2.01 EF2000 ran in two resolutions with three levels of detail, and resolution could be changed on the fly: kind of nice for enjoying the scenery and then making the change when needful if you are hardware challenged. At 320x200 it is still beautiful, and in this mode playable on a 486/66. At high res you better be ready with your P120 or better. (See below for more discussion of hardware and frame rates....) Although most of us are still disappointed that the "real weather" never materialized, DiD reports that the impact on frame rate would have been simply too great.

Not for the Faint Hearted..

With the release of 2.01, one could access three levels of difficulty: Rookie, Pro, and Topgun. The main difference seems to be enemy pilot AI and probability of kill with weapons. Pro will be a workable level for most pilots, with Rookie level good for training. At Topgun level there is challenge enough for any virtual pilot. EF2 is closer to a modern military simulation than anything else out there, and will probably age very well. It requires dedication to learning the systems and learning tactics. But it also pays off handsomely; a challenge that once met is well worthwhile. The campaign mode with its unpredictability and progressive nature truly shines.

But while the difficulty toggle has made EF2 accessible for all players, the documentation is not for the faint hearted. Though the sim is British to the core, the manual does not benefit from the clarity, organization, or comprehensive coverage of that other awesome British product, Tornado. Well who knows? With version 2.01 being so far along from version one, perhaps some enterprising jock will release an after market manual: maybe even spiral bound!

In its first release it was a sim with potential: there were problems with the drag and inertia modeling. Post patch, its a replacement for F3, lacking only some flexibility with wingmen control to oust F3 permanently (see disclaimer below). With net campaign mode now present, the addition of missiles to King of the Skies and weapons selection (LEAD player only) to campaign mode, and the recent revision of kali allowing internet connection, the outlook is bright.

Halfway Home

Its always great to get halfway home. Halfway home means you've hit the target, smoked some bad guys, and had some fun. Problem is, until you touch down on that runway with your airplane in one piece, the job isn't over.

Version 2.0 brought us a new drag and inertia model, revised AI, working SAMs and AAA, working damage model, expanded campaign, expanded radar control and enhanced HUD, changed padlock , frame rate improved, helicopters as Forward Air Controllers, enemy fighters scrambling from bases, and numerous fixes. It was truly a new sim. Naturally, a first patch left us with ongoing issues. We were halfway home.

2.01 addressed wingman A2G issues, (with the exception of anti-ship missions) placed wingtank capacity where it should have been, added new keys for WCSII users and hot keys for DASS range, and a new key for nearest threat lock. Moreover, NATO missiles were made more effective at low altitude, the hornets nest of CAP around enemy air bases was reduced, through the terrain IR missile lock was eliminated, and stealth characteristics of the EF2 were increased (remember to order RADAR OFF after you leave the runway!). The addition of difficulty levels may prove to be the most significant difference for the mass market.

There has been a lot of discussion in the Usenet groups on the flight model. Its definitely beyond USNF, but perhaps not quite up to SU27. The full 6 point DOF is not present, yet the aircraft does apparently behave close to the real thing. The first time you fly you may not believe this, but then, did you ever fly an accurate simulation of a canard based design before? The version 2 revision of drag and inertia is a great improvement, though I still wonder if the incredible range at high altitude might be overdone.

EF2000 is ALMOST a Falcon killer, and here is the disclaimer. EF2000 is TOPS for network play. All over North America F3 is breathing its last on the hard drives of virtual pilots. Many F3 clubs have already made the switch. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to a network. And those who rely on kali have already discovered that ping times limit playability, and the more players added the greater the delays and warping. This means that the best play other than network is still me by my lonesome relying on computer wingmen against computer generated adversaries.

Me and My Wing

Okay, so its me and my AI wingmen. There are a fair representation of standard wingman commands (engage my target, disengage, radar on/off, bracket left/right and so forth), and the two way comms help me stay connected, but every time I order a wing to engage the lone bogie that I as lead shouldn't have to deal with, all three wingmen break formation!! And when I as lead need to re-assess the fluid campaign situation, perhaps because the Wild Weasel mission has been shot down, or because we have used all our A2A weapons due to weak escort, can I query my wingmen for remaining stores or order "Return to Base?" Nope. One can cheat and use the wingman view to check stores: a survival method.

Or when I'm low on fuel, do I know how far to the nearest gas station? Do I know the distance to the nearest base? Nope. Can I find out how long I will wait for the help I need? Can I inquire whether the Wild Weasel boys did their work? Double no. Neither can I order my wingman to "Sanitize Left" or "Scan Low" with radar. These are things I hope to see in F16FF, but I don't know if we will ever see them in EF2. Unless one is in net play, one sometimes feels a bit lonely in the sky, although there are limited comms with the Escort and ones own wingmen. And I have to confess, the browse plane views are unbelievable and help one feel a part of something MUCH larger. But what about WARGEN?

WARGEN and the Virtual Battlefield

WARGEN, by DiDs own say-so, is a monster. This is both an asset and a problem. WARGEN does an incredible amount of work, and sleeping within it are the seeds of expansion. WARGEN is designed to allow future control to be given to the player, and thus the coming Mission Builder.

Moreover, it should be said that WARGEN is an incredible piece of work. AI in EF2 is divided into two: WARGEN and SMARTPILOTS. It is hard to convey to someone who has never flown in this kind of virtual environment just what it is like. I imagine the people who come close to understanding are jet vets. The entire battlefield is alive with activity, and all of it generated in accordance with four separate levels of AI: Grand Strategic level, where all major decisions are made politically, the Strategic level, which is responsible for organizing everyone and everything in terms of where they are and where they are going plus need for reinforcements or supplies. The Operational level is basically us: missions are sorted out in terms of priority and who will do what where. Finally, the Tactical level uses a sophisticated set of rules to resolve combat that takes place elsewhere and generates comprehensive statistics for use by the higher levels of AI. In the virtual battlefield, stuff is happening all over the place, and it is NEVER predictable or repeatable. As one who was used to canned missions, I don't know if I can EVER go back.

Smartpilots looks after all the computer controlled planes (CCPs) in the arena. Each CCP flight leader conducts his flight in response to any situation. The dogfight algorithm used by Smartpliots allows the CCPs to continually recalculate their situation in combat making their manoeuvres potentially more advanced and flesible than a less effective series of manooeuvres. All CCPs in the environment will act as a team, usually splitting up into groups of two.

The Browse Plane key lets one in on some of this action. All units within one hundred miles of the player can be viewed with this key. It is incredible to watch the Weasel guys ahead of you attacking the air base. Or watch the Russians ahead of you attempt to scramble when your flight is detected. Or watch a MiG21 battle it out with a pair of F14s.

Having said all that, in its present incarnation WARGEN has, well, eccentricities. For example, WARGEN is very fond of placing waypoints over enemy installations! Hmmmm..... Furthermore, up to 2.01 WARGEN liked to assign four aircraft to a Strike mission, and only 2 as escort...

2.02 addressed some of these less obvious issues: flaws in WARGEN and flaws in tactical SA. WARGENs habit of assigning only two escort aircraft when a realistic minimum would be four has been tweaked. A four ship escort has become more common. Furthermore, at the suggestion of a tester by the name of Gary Lloyd Ward, JTIDS was modified by adding colored dots to the center square that represents an air contact. Now we know where our escort is, the wild weasel flight, and even AWACS and tankers! Wingmen AI was also addressed, improving A2G delivery in all but anti-ship missions.

The other weakness is in the whole area of comms. With all this activity all around one, one expects more comms. For example, if you are flying LEAD on an Escort mission, and the Strike package and WW boys are just hitting target, you want to know what is happening. You can see them on your AWACS link, but you have no way of getting in on the action first hand other than Browse Plane view... essentially a cheat. But in the real world, you could switch channels or get updated info from AWACS. Were the WW boys successful? What is happening when you see two Strike aircraft disappear from the JTIDs display? Hopefully, F22 will address these comms issues, both for the benefit of SA and for enhanced atmosphere.

WARGEN and A2G Issues

WARGEN limps along on A2G issues, so much so that it is being completely reworked for the coming F22 sim. With EF2000, DiD focussed primarily on Strike and CAP missions and AI, and only secondarily on A2G and CAS issues. As a result, anti ships missions don't really work and A2G in general is weak. Thats why there really are not any CAS missions in the campaign, and also why AAA and SAMs seem effective only part time.

When wingmen receive designated targets on a Strike mission they will carry a full load of A2G ordnance, drop one bomb on their designated target, and carry the rest as ballast all the way home! Moreover, wingmen universally carry two full drop tanks, even when tanks are completely unnecessary. As a result, they are hampered in manoeuvrability and can't carry as many weapons as they otherwise could. As for targets of opportunity..... well, sorry.

Other Issues: Tactics and Enhancements

When v.2 was released many pilots complained that it was TOO difficult. But some pilots were doing much better than others. Ensuring that both DASS and ECM are engaged when you are fired upon is absolutely essential. Breaking upward and throwing flares when an IR missile is within 2 miles is also essential. Keeping an IR missile at your 10 or 2 oclock seems to be ideal, and pilots are reported greatly reduced Rssn hit rates under those conditions.

Moreover, veteran pilots schooled in F3 have taken some time to understand the difference between pure pursuit missiles and thrust vectoring lead pursuit missiles. Keep an IR missile at your 3/9 and you WILL be dead...

Reading the Usenet groups is helpful in many ways, but can also lead to unfair charges on a particular sim. I think this has been particularly true with EF2, with many newer pilots confused by the complexity, and many others making the transition to version 2 and ending up on Prozac... Its a far cry from a typical modern sim to a realistic military simulation. Sadly, this means that pilots have made charges like, "JTIDs doesn't work." Works fine, but lose your AWACS and lose your link; or "wingmen don't form up." They won't form to echelon if you are flying at 200 feet.. too dangerous to stay in close form when you are terrain following with its rapid transitions. "Dass doesn't work." Again, works just fine, but don't expect it to save your bacon if you aren't using proper avoidance techniques.

There are enhancements that I would like to see: ECM indicated on the HUD; a small x in fwd wide view as a padlock feature for indicating direction to locked bandit in the knife-fight; a one key AP mode that would allow the user to lock in current alt, heading, and speed, and the movement and visibility of ground forces. This last one would answer a real need for overall user-friendliness, and save many of us from the unnecessary switching of views and pausing that interrupts the flow of the sim.

It would also be great to have range to target included in pre-flight briefing so that one could gauge need of extra fuel tanks; TOT could be in pre-flight briefing so that we could get an overall sense of the picture for tactical advantage and flight coordination; and radar range and azimuth indicators could be added to the no cockpit HUD for ease of use. We were promised real winds in the ads for EF2. An actual target designation could be added to the anti-ship mission briefing so that we have an idea of what we are going for.

And what about radar that is still usable when we are winchester? Thankfully, this is changed in the coming upgrade. Neither is radar in 2.02 stabilized. This means that when you are turning with your aircraft at 90 degrees to the earth, you will lose any radar lock you had. And what about wingmen who eject when necessary? Some chutes floating around out there would not only add to atmosphere, it would also mean that wingmen are not going down with the ship.

EF2: The Next Coming

The good news in all of this is that DiD is continuing to work on EF2000. While they could have handed out some quick fixes and a few tweaks, they have chosen to solidify their product and give users more of what they want. Due in large part to the complexity of the AI, tweaks and enhancements became a far more difficult process than anticipated. As a result, v.2 was late and has become an ongoing project represented in the coming upgrade. With the release of 2.01 and 2.02, the fight being equalized and AI adjusted, this sim will keep my attention for quite some time. But will it take us into the 21st century?

DiD is almost finished a mission builder/upgrade called Tactical Communications for EF2. This will eliminate the complaints around improper and inflexible waypoints and frustrations with wingman armament, strike force composition, or mission goals. The control and tactical dimension added by a Mission Builder would turn a good sim into the kind of challenge many rejoiced to find in Tornado. A Mission Builder will contribute to the challenge and to player involvement and definitely strengthen the appeal AND lengthen the life of this sim. This leads to the inevitable question....

Will EF2 take us into the next century, or will it a fading blip on the MFDs of 1997? I think it will last, but of course a lot depends on DiD.

First, although the v.2 patch allows messages to be sent real time on screen between connected players, EF2 has lacked a key element of F3 that heightened player involvement: flexible and broad wingman interaction. USNF shone on this one, if not for command mode at least for comms. And Top Gun hasn't missed this either. But EF2 and B2B are both weak here. (If you are into kali and net play exclusively, you will NEVER notice !)

Second, the issue of frame rate and detail: in short, hardware 3d acceleration....

EF2 and the Future: 3D, Frame Rates and Features

On the horizon, just BVR, Digital Integration is holding the coming F16. DI has already stated their commitment to 3D hardware acceleration. SU27 version 2 will run under WIN95 with support for Direct 3d.This will mean a total revolution in sim play for a couple of reasons. What's the point, you ask? Isn't this a future issue rather than a present one?

Well, the first point is a dramatic increase in raw frame rates. I run EF2000 on a Pentium at 150 MHz, and its ALMOST right. I average about 14fps with all the stops out. This is enough to make for a fairly smooth screen, but not an invisible, completely believable one. 3D hardware would take this sim where no man has gone before, up to and beyond 30 fps at greater color depth on a high end 486 or moderate Pentium machine.

But wait! 14 fps is tops, not universal. Add the cockpit, and suddenly I'm down to 8-9 fps. Then add special effects, like bombs exploding, and even on a P150, frame rate drops to 5 or 6. In a similar vein, add the presence of six more EF2s and six or eight enemy aircraft, and frame rate drops to about 5. This is where 3D hardware would save the day. And with the ability of the 2nd generation chipsets, ViRGE, Verite, Rage, Permedia, Voodoo and others (see links below) to add video texturing, the mapping of video onto a surface as though it were a texture, you can imagine the special effects!!

But this isn't the only advantage by any means. If you have seen a demo of 3d converted software running on ViRGE or Verite, you KNOW something amazing has happened. Everything is smoother. Fog looks, well, foggy. Clouds look like clouds. Depth and perspective seem more realistic. And the frame rate!!

Second, 3D hardware acceleration will mean that the overloaded CPU will suddenly be available for other tasks. Who would ever have considered adding 4WD or air conditioning to the early VW bug? It didn't have enough power to get you up the hill, much less anything more. But as engineering advances and raw engine size freed up horsepower, the little bug sprouted all kinds of features. In the same way, Once the CPU is freed from the mundane duty of tex mapping, we can start to dream again.

Into the Future

And this, I believe, is the real future of simdom. Feature rich and object rich environments, superior special effects, better flight models, superior AI, realistic weather and wind (even rain!), and multiple monitor support a la B2B (for MFD's or....?). But even the suspension of disbelief that would be generated by high frame rates (30 +) is a worthy goal.

But isn't this a future issue, you ask? After all, where are all these 3D accelerators? As I update this (October 10) the 2nd gen are on the shelves, and 3rd generation stuff is happening now. So-what will become of older sims when the sims of 1Q 97 take us into the 21st century? How many of us will settle for 12 fps when we can have double that and more features?

In the past, serious gamers upgraded their equipment regularly so they could stay on top of the demand for computing power. But when 3D hardware hits the shelves, we won't have to. While sim buyers have readily plunked down $1000s to stay in the market, 2nd generation 3D hardware has weighed in at around $200. Even the most powerful boards with chipsets like the Voodoo set have hit the market at under $300. Will the pre hardware 3D sims last?

With Tactical Communications, EF2 has a fighting chance. I, for one, will have it on my hard drive for a long, long time.

Live long and prosper, EF2000!!
Check six!